Oil cup



Nov.

L. c. DUTRO OIL CUP Filed Sept. 6 1922 run/Enron "Leslie 0.1911220 A TTORNEYS Patented Nov. 3, 1925..

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

LESLIE CARL DUTRO, OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

OIL CUP Application filed September 6, 1922. Serial No. 586,486.

following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in oil cups and more particularly to cups having an automatic feed controlled by the temperature of thebearings or by the temperature of certain parts of the machine either adjacent or at a distance from the cup.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an oil feeding device capable of use in difierent positions and in any position automatically feeding the necessary quantity of oil from time to time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic oil feeding device which may be arranged on a stationary hearing or stationary part "or may be arranged on a rotating member. 25 In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through an oil cup and part of a bearing the oil cup disclosing one embodiment o the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through a further. modified form of oil cup illustrating how the cup may supply oil automatically to a bearing from an appreciable distance above the bearing.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numeral, 11 indicates an oil cup which is provided with a top 12 anda bottom 13 of substantially identical structures, said top and bottom being supplied with gaskets 14 40 and 15 whereby tight joints are produced.

Preferably the tubular section 16 between the top and bottom is formed of glass. The top 12 is provided with anaperture through which a central filler tube 17 extends, said filler tube being threaded exterior 1y at both ends. A suitable nut 18 is used at the upper end for clamping the tube securely to the top 12 while a covering cap 19 is threaded onto the extreme end oi the filler tube 17. Suitable gaskets-or washers are arranged beneath the cap 19 and the nut 18 respectively whereby there will beno chance of any leakage. The lower end of the tube 65 17 extends through the bottom 13 and is threaded into a fitting or nipple 20 which is also exteriorly threaded so as to be screwed into the bearing 21. The fitting 20 is provided with a large bore for receiving the lower threaded end of tube 17 and a small bore for receiving the threaded end of the lubricant feed tube 22. In my prior Patent No. 1,408,180, a well was formed in an extension from the bottom of the cup but in the present instance the well is formed in the lower part of the tube 17 by using a plug 23 arranged below the lowermost apertures 24. It will be noted that there are several of these apertures provided in the filler tube 17 and the topaperture is an appreciable distance below the top 12 so that an air chamber is insured in the upper portion of the cup even though a careless operator might overflow the tube 17 in filling the cup.

When the parts have been constructed as shown in Figure 1 with the plug 23 in place, a well 25 is produced, said plug being arranged a short distance above the top of the lubricantfeed tube 22. By this construction and arrangement, oil is permitted to flow into the well through the orifice 26 until the oil level is approximately as shown in Figure 1 thus confining a 'quantity of air in the upper part of the well. The openings 24 in the tube 17 are formed so as to permit the filling of the cup and filler tube to replace the lubricant which is fed from the cup. may be readily removed as occasion may require.

The operation of the cup is entirely automatic. When the cup is filled or partially filled with lubricant, a portion thereof will flow into the well 25 as shown in Figure 1, but due to the fact that the cup 11 is airtight the escape of oil from the cup will cause a partial vacuum to be formed in the upper portion so that the oil will cease to flow under normal conditions. When the temperature of the bearing increases, the heat will be transmitted to'the well cup and lubricant to cause an expansion of the lubricant and also an expansion of the air. This expansion will force the lubricant downwardly into the well 25 through the orifice 26 which oil will overflow through the tube 22 into the bearing 21 to cool the latter. As the temperature decreases, the expansion of the fluid will decrease and if this decrease in temperature is sufiicient, the lubricant It will be noted that the filler tube the cup becomes heated with the bearing and this heat is transmitted directly to the oil. The amount of expansionof the metal in the cup is so small as not to noticeably affect the ca )acity of the cup, especiall as the walls .oi the cup are.made of ass. However, the heat transmitted is 0 importance in that it will cause the oil and the air to expand to an appreciable extent. The lubricant and the air expand and contract in accordance with the temperature of the hearing so that the feed of lubricant is automatically maintained and air is drawn into the well and cup from the bearing to maintain the normal atmospheric pressure within the cup. I The use of the well allows leeway in the operation of the cup.

This leeway is accomplished by extending or shortening the tube 22. By len thening the tube 22 so that it terminates a ove the bottom of the'well and near the lug 23, the well has to be filled up to a point level with the top of this tube before it begins to feed to the bearing ands-hen the contrac tion takes place in the well the liquid is drawn up into the cup until the tube 22 is free of oil, when direct communication with the atmosphere is made through the tube 22 and bearin 21. A further advantage of the enclose well isthat when the cup is jarred or shaken, instead of shakin a-few dro s directly out into the bearing, t ey are sha en from the cup into the w'ell and when the balance is established this excessive lubricant is drawn back into the cu instead of drawing in air and the origina balance is established without any loss of oil or lubricant.

In some machinery, it is found that oil cups are necessary at very inconvenient places and sometimes at places which are almost inaccessible. When this occurs a structure substantially as shown in Figure 2 may be used wherein it will be seen that the oil cup 11 is placed an appreciable distance above the bearin 39. In this form of the invention, the 01]. cup could not only be placed above thebearing but could be placed above andonpne side and still operate in an efiicient manner. The cup 11 in'this form of theinvention is identical to that shown in Figure 1 except the tube 22 is of greater length and also the fitting 20 screws into a pipe 40 instead of a hearing. The pipe 40 is secured in any suitable manner to an air-tight box 41 referably formed of metal and resting on t e bearing 39. It will be noted that the pipe 40. acts merely -mounting the cup as a support for the cu 11. A very small pipe 42 connects theaur-tight box 4i and the upper part of the cup 11 so that the expension and contraction of the air in the ox 41 will act in a similar manner to that shown in Figure 1. It will be noted that in this form of the invention, as well as in the other form, the variation of heat either on the bearing or some other objects will var the feeding action of the cup and that al the excess oil is withdrawn into the cup.

1. In a lubricatingdevice,an oilcup adapted to be secured to a bearing to be lubricated, a filling tube in the cup'and having a artition forming a well in its lower en the tube being aperturied to permit the oil in the cu to enter the said tube and its well, and a eed'tube extending into the well above its communication with the cup.

2. In a lubricating device, an'oil cup provided with a fittin adapted to be secured to a bearin to be ubricated, a filling tube secured in t 1e cup with its lower end extending into the fitting, said tube being provided with a partition forming the lower end of the tube into a well and with openings in its upper end and an opening adjacent the bottom of the cup, and a small feed tube extendin through the fitting into the well of the filling tube.

3. A lubricant feeding device 'for bearings, comprising a fitting adapted to be secured to a bearing, said fitting havin a comparatively small bore therein, a filer tube secured tosaid fitting, a cup surrounding said filler tube, means for clamping the on against said fittin and in sition aroun said filler tube, said means includin a closure, said filler tube having a wel in its lower end and provided with an aperture adjacent to the bottom of the cup and est lishing communication between the cup at a well, and a discharge tube connected with the fittin 'so'as to discharge through the aperture t erein, saiddischar'ge tube extending into the well and beyond said aperture.

4. A lubricant feeding device for bearings, comprisin a box formin an air chamber and adapte to be secure upon a hearing to be lubricated, an oil cup provided with a filler tube and a well at the lower end of the said tube, said tube and well communicating with the oil cup, means for on said box, a dischar e tube extending rom the bearing into the well, and an air tube leading from the said box into the upper part of the oil cup.

5. A lubricant feeding device for bearings, comprising a box forming an air chamber adapted to fit against a bearing'to be through, a plug arranged in said filler tube for causing the lower part of the tube tobeoome a well, said tube being provided with an orifice below said plug, and a plurality 5 of apertures above the plug, a discharge tube extending from said bearing into said well and above the orifice opening therein, and

an air tube extending from said box to the upper part of said oil cup whereby the expansion and contraction of air in said box will provide increasing and decreasing pressure in said oil cup.

LESLIE CARL DUTRO.- 

